Logan City Council has transformed the historic Kingston Butter Factory into a world-class community precinct for arts, culture and entertainment incorporating the city’s largest outdoor event space with a capacity for up to 5,000 people.
The Theatre Consultant was Phil Viney of Design Stage with HME Services supplying a full turnkey solution for productions using this exciting venue.
“HME went into the completed stage structure and essentially put in everything!” commented Nathan Roser, Technical & Production Supervisor at Kingston Butter Factory. “Lighting grid, truss, motors, audio, lighting, cable runs, patching points – pretty much everything we needed to put on shows.”
The venue can host national acts and major festivals and be home to markets and signature large-scale events. The in-house solutions had to cater for 90% of clientele and being a cultural precinct, there were a variety of community groups to satisfy.
“We wanted to ensure that when a client came into the space they are equipped with a level of production that they haven’t experienced before and the packages we provide elevate what they are trying to achieve,” said Nathan. “The community clients that we have done shows for have all been very impressed.”
Three lighting bars are located in the overhead grid with the bars able to move position whenever required.
“We can also hang off the mother grid,” said Nathan. “Technically, we have no curtaining on our outdoor stage but we have put curtaining in for some of our shows to provide a black backdrop. We also have a 7m x 2m LED Screen from Absen.”
The audio comprises a Nexo GEO M12 line array complete with subs and front fill with all control by Yamaha. The lighting solution is all IP-rated fixtures so that they can be kept permanently outside with an MA Lighting MA3 compact for control.
“Although they are undercover, it gives us extra peace of mind for the longevity of the fixtures,” added Nathan. “They’re all from the ShowPRO Neptune range with a few extra LED fixtures to provide a nice lighting show for our clients. We also have a couple of poles in front of the house for some additional front light and they house a couple of Prolights Panorama fixtures.”
HME Services and the Logan Technical Team have always had a great working relationship that carried through this project.
“Having HME based locally was very helpful,” stated Nathan. “They could always provide solutions and quick turnarounds for deliveries. If we ever had a problem, they were quickly there to assist in finding a solution.”
